A/N: Well, I'm amazed at how many people like my idea! To all who reviewed, I appreciate the advice and thoughts. Thanks!

Here's the next chapter, mostly talking, but a bit of action at the end as well. Id like to hear your opinion on how I wrote that part. Enjoy!

Chapter 2:

"Why can't things be easy for once?", Banagher asked no one in particular as he floated through the hangar to his mobile suit. It had been one thing after another ever since he got involved with Laplace's box. And Banagher's current predicament didn't even have any connection to the box in the first place.

He noticed that some of the mechanics looked at the machine with great interest, and he couldn't blame them. The Unicorn in its design alone was definitely not something they had seen anywhere before, beginning with the horn that was positioned on the head, followed by the movable segments that covered the Psycoframe of the Gundam, as well as the beam sabers hidden on the backpack and the beam tonfas placed on the fore arms. The three shields were also mounted to the suit, one on the back and the other two on the arms. It may have looked weird to others, but this was all that was left from the Full Armor Unicorn, designed by his best friend Takuya.

"Everyone…"

Again his thoughts started to drift away, but he shook his head to force them away. He would see them again soon enough. And to do that, he needed to check the Unicorn for more information. So, Banagher moved to the hatch of the mobile suit and opened the lock he placed. The hatch opened with a little sound and revealed the cockpit of the Unicorn. He jumped inside and placed himself in the pilot seat.

As the hatch closed, he used one of the input boards to go through the Unicorn's system. Banagher looked for records, data, information, anything that would help him out in deciphering the mystery as to what could have caused this journey to a different world. The familiar walls of numbers and letters flowed over the screens of the 360°-cockpit and Banagher tried to make any sense of it.

"Just what is going on here, Unicorn…!"

However, he received no answer while the numbers continued to run over the screens. With a sigh, Banagher leaned back into the pilot seat to gather his thoughts. Since the Unicorn didn't reveal anything to him, maybe he needed to do something like the times when he unlocked the several seals on Laplace's box.

"Do I have to activate the NT-D? Maybe I have to use it in specific locations, just like before?"

And again he received no answer to his question.

Kira was strolling aimlessly through the ship as he thought about what Athrun had told him. His best friend's words still stung him where it hurts the most.

"Is this the justice you are fighting for!?"

"Athrun…!"

"I'm going to save her, no matter what!"

He knew it wasn't right to use Lacus Clyne as a hostage. He didn't save her from drifting through the debris just so she could be used as a bargaining chip. It just wasn't right, but he could do nothing about it.

And the worst part, he almost didn't keep his promise to Flay, the girl he liked. Kira remembered the times he saw her smiling and laughing with her friends, having fun like any normal teenager. And Kira loved her smile. When he witnessed the reunion of father and daughter, everyone around them was just as happy and relieved as the family themselves. They were laughing and crying in happiness. Yet at the same time, Kira didn't feel like he belonged there. Like he wasn't supposed to be there.

Even worse, they would probably scorn him for making a promise he couldn't keep, if not for the unknown white mobile suit. That group of happy people, that place where he wasn't allowed to be, was the place the pilot of that suit belonged to.

Kira understood that he was weak, just as Lieutenant la Flaga said when he asked why they would use Lacus as hostage. But it's not like he could change that. He didn't want to fight. Not against his best friend, not against anyone. All he wanted was a life in peace.

And just as he found himself lost with his thoughts, he floated aimless through the ship.

Banagher was slightly confused as for why so many civilians were celebrating in the canteen. He just came here to have a quick bite to eat before continuing his work on the Unicorn's system. He also changed into one of the spare uniforms of the mechanics, since he didn't want to stay in his pilot suit all the time. So he moved past the group and took a tray with food and sat down at one of the tables.

It didn't take long for him to be interrupted.

"Who are you?"

"Huh?"

Banagher didn't register the question for a moment before turning to the source of the voice. Behind him stood a girl his age with light brown hair, bright blue eyes and a pink colored uniform with a skirt. She looked at him questioningly, prompting Banagher to back away in surprise.

"I've never seen you on the ship before", the girl said.

"Uhm…"

"Hey Milly, what are you doing?", asked another teenager with dark brown hair. He was wearing a uniform as well, only in blue and with pants.

"Tolle, do you remember seeing this guy before?"

"Now that you mention it, no I didn't", said the male teen as he approached. Following behind the boy named Tolle was another one, dressed in the same uniform, with dark hair.

"I also didn't meet you until today, is that so strange?", Banagher said, trying to hide that he was actually the pilot of the Unicorn. He, the Captain and the Lieutenant agreed that as few people as necessary should know about him. And so he decided to pose as one of the mechanics working on the ship.

"I guess so. My name is Miriallia Haw. But you can call me Milly", said the girl with a playful wink.

"I'm Tolle Koenig, and this guy here is Kuzzey Buskirk", introduced the brown haired one himself and his friend.

"My name is Banagher Links. But aren't you a bit young to be soldiers?"

"We could ask you the same. We are here because we wanted to help our friend, but we needed to enroll to do that."

"I see."

Banagher remembered the history lessons where children were made to fight, the higher-ups never caring for them and using them as they saw fit. The One Year War was the worst example he could think of, but thinking negatively wouldn't bring him anywhere.

"For me, there were some… circumstances that brought me here, and now I'm not really sure what to do", Banagher replied after some time.

The air got slightly depressing when they saw Banagher's lonely expression, something the teens had seen on each other's faces often lately. The destruction of Heliopolis and the constant battles weighted heavily on everyone, since they were just pushed into this situation by circumstances they had no influence over. None of them chose to go on this ship of their own will, but by a decision forcibly made for them.

The war had affected many people, innocent civilians the most. However, up until now these things only happened far away, on the other side of a screen. It almost seemed unreal. But now, reality hit them hard, and as a result they lost their home and had to become (temporary) soldiers to lessen the burden on their friend Kira who was risking his life day by day.

"I… I'm sorry I asked", Miriallia apologized. Banagher looked at her in light surprise before realizing what she meant.

"It's okay. You didn't do anything wrong", he said, trying to lift the mood a bit. "In the end, I chose this way, and now I have to see it through."

The three looked at Banagher with some sort of realization, and nodded in agreement.

"Okay, if you say so", Tolle said with a smile. "We should go back though. Want to join us, Banagher?"

"No, but thanks. I got to go back to work after my meal."

"Alright, see you around."

At the same time, Murrue, Mu and Natarle Badgiruel were meeting with Foreign Minister George Allster to discuss further plans. Murrue had planned to avoid a longer discussion with the man, as the business suit wearing politician was quite intent on keeping his daughter save. She never liked dealing with his type, but with her new position, such moments would become more common for her.

They went over a list of matters that needed to be cleared up, and the talk dragged itself out for a long time, since the minister continued to keep asking for special privileges that were supposed to 'make the journey more comfortable for his daughter'. Murrue had never felt so exhausted afterwards.

"Now, since we finished most of the important points, I would like to give you my thanks for protecting my daughter", the minister said.

"I understand", Murrue replied short to the fourth thanks that conversation. She suppressed a sigh and just hoped that this would be over soon.

"And if possible, I would like to meet the pilot who saved my ship."

Mu looked at Murrue from the corner of his eye, waiting for her reply. The two officers had talked long about how they should act with Banagher aboard the ship and came to the conclusion that they should keep his identity mostly low, at least until they were able to rendezvous with the 8th fleet. And that included avoiding meetings with noisy politicians.

"I'm afraid that he is currently resting, and the details to his actions are classified", Murrue said with a professional no-nonsense tone. The minister kept a good poker face though wand wasn't the least impressed.

"I'm sure a short conversation would be possible."

"Not at the moment. Maybe there will be a chance when we meet with Admiral Halberton."

Obviously, the man wasn't pleased with this answer, but he had no other ways to get the permission. But this was necessary for him. He would find a way, since he wanted to know more about the pilot. And especially the mobile suit.

"Where am I?"

Banagher didn't think it was possible, considering he went to the hangar several times by now, but he was actually lost. He even tried to find out the fastest way to it, so he could get to the Unicorn as fast as possible when necessary. But when he left the canteen, he must've been in such a hurry, he took a wrong corridor, and now he was floating to who-knows-where.

He found himself floating down a corridor, which was slightly more difficult than before, since the ship didn't have automated hand rails for moving through zero gravity. The corridor was devoid of light, only a dark glow at the end told him that he wasn't heading straight into a wall. So he continued, until he found something similar to an Observatory, an empty room with huge windows to look at the outside of the ship.

Beyond the glass was an ocean of stars, a sight he was used to ever since he was born. Banagher felt home in the vastness of space, ever since he was born. He continued to watch the stars, until he noticed that the room wasn't as empty. However, the other person didn't seem to have noticed him.

"Are you okay?", Banagher asked, seeing the uncomfortable look on the face of the brown haired teen in front of him.

The teen turned around, slightly startled at the appearance of another person. He relaxed when their eyes met, and sighed.

"I'm just… a bit confused."

"And so you came here to think about it?"

"Actually, I wanted to be alone, but…"

A slightly awkward silence spread between the two and for a while they both just waited for the other to say something.

"I guess I didn't introduce myself. I'm Kira Yamato", the teen said.

"Banagher Links."

"Well, I guess I should say thank you for keeping the ship running."

"Huh?"

"I mean, you, Mr. Murdoch and the others are working hard all the time. I should at least do this much."

Banagher checked his clothes and remembered that he was wearing one of the orange and white worker uniforms that all the mechanics had. He wasn't part of the crew, but with these clothes, it seemed like he could blend in well with the other members. At least until he had to pilot the Unicorn again. It's not like he could blow a hole in the hull of the ship when he needed to go outside.

"Don't worry about it. Everyone is doing their job, so it's not like they expect thanks. But thanks anyway."

Banagher let his word linger for a moment before he continued the conversation.

"And what about you? You had something to think about, right?"

"Yeah…"

Banagher waited for Kira to continue who seemed to struggle with his choice of words.

"It's just, ever since I got involved in this war, I feel like everyone's expecting so much from me. I keep fighting battle after battle, and it's lie everything is going to come crashing down on me. Even in the last battle, I wouldn't have been able to keep a promise to a friend of mine, if that white mobile suit wouldn't have appeared."

Banagher tensed slightly at Kira's mentioning of the Unicorn, but it seemed like Kira hadn't noticed since he continued to talk.

"I… I just don't know what I'm supposed to do anymore!"

"I think I understand that feeling."

Kira threw a look of disbelief at Banagher, who in turn had an understanding smile on his face.

"What do you mean?"

"I also got involved in something I wasn't and didn't want to be a part of and was forced to fight against people. They kept telling me to fight the enemy, but who is that supposed to be? How should I fight without knowing who my allies and who my enemies were?"

"But you kept fighting?"

"Because I had a reason to fight. People I wanted to protect. And I think that if you believe in something, you should stand up for it. Even if others tell you that it is some sort of delusion or wishful thinking, you have to keep going. It may sound contradicting, and maybe it is. But even so, you mustn't give up."

"And what then? There is no meaning if all I do is make things worse!"

"How can you know that without trying? Everyone makes mistakes, that's why were human! We have hearts that can feel, and we can act on these emotions. Somethings these decisions are wrong, but the wish to protect something can give you more strength than you'd think."

Kira seemed to think about Banagher's words, so he remained quiet for some time. Banagher decided to leave it at that, since he could tell that Kira was too conflicted at the moment to come to coherent answer. Banagher knew that feeling, since he was in a similar position before as well. The incident with Laplace's box and the Unicorn changed his life and the lives of his friends. He turned around and floated to the hallway, leaving Kira behind at the window.

It was hard to deal with circumstances that give you more problems than one could handle. Kira learned this the hard way, and even if the talk with Banagher made it easier for him, he was still conflicted about fighting his best friend. Even if they didn't see each other in years, he couldn't understand how things turned out like this. He kept pushing these thoughts away, until he couldn't hold it anymore and let everything out. He screamed.

"What's the matter?"

"Huh?"

Kira turned around, seeing a sudden wall of pink, even in this dark room. Then he noticed that it was Lacus, looking at him with a smile. But when she noticed his tears, she tried to wipe them off, but Kira backed away in surprise.

"What are you doing here?", he asked while the pink robot continued to bounce around them.

"I was taking a walk, when I suddenly heard a loud sound."

"But you can't. You'd be accused of spying."

Kira didn't want her to get into more trouble, and he also didn't want to have her see him like this, so he tried to end this conversation, but Lacus wouldn't be that easy to convince. She told him about her robot pet, and the conversation moved towards Athrun.

"Athrun didn't change at all. He built my Birdy as well", Kira told her, remembering better times, but also their recent meetings.

"You seem sad."

"Well, even though we're friends, we keep fighting every time. You see, he is the pilot of the Aegis, and I don't want to fight him."

Kira started to rant again, just when he talked with Banagher. He just wasn't able to wrap his head around any of this, and the frustration continued to build up.

But just then, Lacus grabbed his face, shaking him out of his thoughts.

"You and Athrun are both very kind people, and this is very sad. I would be great if you didn't have to fight at all."

"I was told that I can fight if I want to protect or believe in something. But still…"

"You don't want to hurt your friend… nor your enemies, is that it?"

Kira looked at her with wide eyes, suddenly realizing something. He thought back on what Banagher had told him, and something just made sense in that moment. Kira wasn't aware of what, but that what Lacus just said… could that be possible?

"It seems impossible, right?", Lacus said, a sad smile on her face. "You don't need to push yourself into fighting like that."

"But even so…"

"What?"

Lacus didn't hear what Kira was whispering, but he repeated himself.

"But even so, I want to protect my friends…"

Lacus noticed the tiny bit of resolve in Kira's eyes, a strong wish he wanted to fulfill no matter what. She smiled happier again.

"I believe that you will find a solution", Lacus said. "Don't lose sight of yourself, and you are sure to find the answer you're looking for."

Later that night, Banagher was on his way back to his quarters when he saw Miriallia and a blond haired teen with yellow-tinted glasses standing next to the door to the locker room. They seemed nervous for some reason and kept looking around, as if they were watching out for something. Or someone. Since hiding wouldn't really help here, Banagher decided to confront them right away. He wasn't sure what they were up to, but Banagher had a bad feeling about it.

"What are you doing here?", Banagher called out. It was in the middle of the night, even if that was hard to know in space, so the two didn't actually expect that anyone would come past them, much less call out to them.

"W-well, we're, uhm-!", the blond teen started to stutter, but Miriallia recovered faster than her friend.

"Banagher! Well, you see…"

But before she could start explaining, the door of the locker room opened and Kira in a pilot suit floated out with a girl in a normal space suit. And unfortunately, he didn't notice the warnings of his friends in time.

"We're ready and…", Kira started before slowly turning to Banagher.

A slightly awkward atmosphere was spreading as Banagher looked at the pink haired girl with… a huge… belly… and the others were tense as they didn't know how Banagher would act.

"Please, you have to let me take her back!", Kira suddenly begged as he looked almost desperate to convince Banagher. "I just can't agree to keep her as a hostage. And once we get away from ZAFT, there won't be a chance for her to go back without harm!"

Banagher's eyes slightly widened as he heard the pilot's words. He had witnessed the hostage-situation, but never saw the person that was held as hostage. She was a beautiful girl, but Banagher couldn't really see how she looked as she was wearing a space suit. Though he could tell that she had some sort of air to her, which reminded him of Audrey, yet somewhat different. It was hard for him to really explain it.

"Alright. I'll help out too", Banagher said, since he already told Murrue how he saw the hostage situation. He was aware that he would get in trouble after this, and his cover would probably blow, but that wasn't as bad as it could be. Even if lying wasn't something he liked to do, he had thought of some things to say to answer the most likely questions.

And while Banagher was considering the possible problems following his decision, the teens stared at him with wide eyes.

"You can't! You don't need to get in trouble just for this!", Kira said, grateful for Banagher to not rat them out to the Captain, but he also didn't want to involve him any further in his selfish plan.

"It's okay. I'm used to not follow orders to the point. And besides, I can't agree to taking a child hostage as well. No matter who they are related to."

When no immediate reply came, he moved towards the door of the locker room.

"You guys go ahead to the hangar. Just keep moving, and I will make sure to keep things from getting out of hand."

Kira nodded, believing that Banagher would know what he does, and floated towards the hangar with the others. When they turned the corner, he went inside to change into his own pilot suit.

Banagher jumped inside the cockpit, quickly sitting down in the seat, closing the hatch and beginning the start-up sequence. He went over a few of the controls before the familiar sight of the hangar appeared on his screens. An alarm started to ring out when the Strike moved towards the hangar exit. As soon as the other mobile suit was on the launching catapult, he moved the Unicorn to place two of his shields at a nearby wall, securing them tightly. Then he followed onto the launching pad as well. As he slowly went towards the exit, the face of a very unpleased Murrue Ramius appeared on the screen.

"What do you think you're doing!?"

"Kira is doing the right thing. I'm just going to make sure it stays at a simple handover", Banagher replied, a bit surprised at the Captain's sudden outburst, even if he had expected it.

"And you believe that this would solve the situation in the best way?"

"Yes."

Banagher didn't try to explain himself to her and just showed his confidence in the choice Kira made. Murrue herself couldn't stop him now, since the Strike had already left. And the highest priority for her was the safety of the suit and Kira.

With a sigh she nodded while someone off-screen seemed to protest vehemently against this decision. But Murrue ignored the shouts for the moment and focused on Banagher.

"Don't do anything stupid."

"I won't."

And after another moment the screen went blank. Banagher drifted to the entrance and turned towards the backside of the ship. He zoomed in on the Strike as it flew towards the Vesalius. Kira stopped his suit in the middle between both ships and waited. Shortly after, a suit left the ZAFT-ship, the red mobile suit Banagher saw fighting against Kira's Strike. They got closer, and after a short exchange the cockpits opened, revealing the respective passengers.

Everything seemed to go well, but Banagher could feel that something was wrong. But all he could do at the moment was to wait and watch. In the worst case, he was confident to get to Kira fast enough.

And just as the Strike was floating away from the red mobile suit, Banagher sensed an evil intent so clearly, he almost froze from the intensity. But he had felt this before once, and in the same moment he accelerated, turning the Unicorn into a white flash shooting through space towards the oncoming enemy.

All the people watching were shocked when the Unicorn speeded past the Strike in a matter of moments, extending one of its Beam Tonfas and crashing into Creuset's CGUE. Creuset though barely managed to ready his sword to deflect the attack, but at the cost of losing said sword in a glowing, molten stump.

"Damn!"

He tried to increase his distance as the Unicorn charged at him again. As if sensing how the white suit would attack, he barely dodged at the last second, costing him the lower half of one of his arms. And just as the white suit prepared for a third attack, it stopped its charge when a young girl's voice came through an open channel.

"Commander Rau Le Creuset, pull back at once!", came her hasty order, even if she had no actual right to give the masked man any orders. "Do you plan to turn this area, where a representative of the memorial delegation is present, into a war zone?"

Creuset scoffed silently at the rhetorical question, considering the potential problems for him, should he refuse. He looked towards the white suit, which was still floating just a few paces away from him, still with the beam weapon on its fore arm at the ready.

"Very well, Ms. Clyne."

Banagher looked on as the enemy suit moved away to its ship. With the last attack, he had actually aimed to remove the whole arm, yet that pilot was able to dodge and reduce the damage. As he was still thinking, he was suddenly addressed by Lacus.

"And thank you for stopping at my request as well, Mr. Unicorn."

Banagher tensed, wondering where she heard the name of the Unicorn.

"Oh, was that wrong? With the white and that horn, I couldn't help but think of one."

Banagher didn't reply, but deactivated his beam weapon and folded it back into the fore arm. He then turned away and returned to the Archangel.

Kira watched as the Aegis left before turning to follow the Unicorn back. Mu, who managed to patch through to Kira, offered his own thoughts.

"That was one kind of a princess. Now get back here, before the people here rip your head off."

He however got no reply to his joke from the young Coordinator, until he noticed the tears in Kira's eyes.

"What's wrong?"

Kira once again remembered himself of how he felt about his friends, about Banagher's words, and the encouragement from Lacus. But none of that could help him in this moment where he was just sad about the parting with his best friend. And yet still, he couldn't voice his troubles to the Lieutenant.

"No, it's nothing."

And with this excuse, he tried to ignore the pain he felt in his heart.